JP2003130245A - Assembling method of electrically driven valve and assembling body thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for assembling a solenoid operation valve to a manifold or a valve block, and to provide an assembling body thereof. SOLUTION: The solenoid operation valve 12 is assembled to the hydraulic manifold 22. On the manifold, columns 32, 34 having undercut parts 36, 38 on both sides of a cavity 20 are fixed. A U-shaped bracket 43 having an opening in the center is inserted into a solenoid 14 and a first pair of tabs are engaged with lugs 40, 42 on both sides of a valve body 16 for preventing relative rotation between the bracket 43 and a valve 12. The bracket 43 has a pair of facing elastically deformable spring arms. The respective arm has a second pair of tabs and contacts the column and deflects when a user inserts the valve body 16 into the cavity 20. The arm elastically engages with the undercut part of the column for preventing coming off of the valve. The second tabs engage with side surface of the column for preventing relative rotations of the bracket and the valve.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the installation of electrically operated valves used to control hydraulic flow in fluid actuated systems, and more particularly in such systems for coupling to fluid actuated systems. , A valve assembly in which a body portion including a fluid inlet port and a fluid outlet port is inserted into a receptacle or block having corresponding ports.

The present invention is particularly concerned with solenoid actuated valves of the type in which the valve body can be inserted into a block or manifold to control hydraulic flow in automatic shift power transmissions.

[0003]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In automatic power transmissions used in the production of some vehicles such as passenger cars and light trucks,
The shifting operation of this transmission is controlled by a plurality of valves mounted on the manifold. Each valve is connected to a fluid control circuit and actuates one of the hydraulic shift actuators used in the transmission.

Heretofore, such solenoid operated transmission shift control valves have been attached to hydraulic manifolds within the transmission by individual fixtures, such as bolts. The bolt passes through the retaining bracket to receive the individual solenoid operated valve in the bracket.

This arrangement is provided to hold the valve on the manifold. However, this arrangement requires the provision of separate fixtures during the assembly process, requires additional tools for tightening the bolts, and provides appropriate bolt assembly torque.

As a result, mounting solenoid actuated shift control valves on automatic transmissions can be quite costly in mass production of vehicles. Therefore, it has been desired to provide a method or means that simplifies the mounting of this valve and reduces assembly time and cost.

[0007]

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention solves the above problems by controlling a solenoid operated hydraulic valve to control the flow of fluid flowing through a manifold or a passage in the manifold. To the block for
The aim is to provide a simple and reasonably low cost assembly method and assembly thereof.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the constitution described in each claim. The method of assembling an electrically operated valve of the present invention into a valve block comprises providing a cavity having a fluid passage and valve blocks having first and second valve retaining surfaces disposed on opposite sides of the cavity, the valve block having both sides A valve body having a pair of mounting lugs extending therefrom and a mounting portion having an inlet port and an outlet port, the first set of tabs engaging the lugs;
Forming a resilient clip having a second set of tabs that engage the valve retaining surface, inserting a mounting portion of the actuation valve into the cavity, disposing the clip on the actuation valve, and A set of tabs engage the lugs and the actuating valve is disposed on the valve body to resiliently engage the second set of tabs with the retaining surface to position the actuating valve on the valve block. It is characterized by including each step of fixing to.

Further, the assembly having the electrically operated valve and the valve operation manifold according to the present invention has a cavity having a plurality of fluid passages for communicating fluid therebetween, and a cavity disposed on each side of the cavity. A valve operating manifold having a manifold having a pair of retaining surfaces, a pair of first and second portions having an inlet and an outlet formed in the first portion and disposed on opposite sides of the second portion. An electrically operated valve having a valve body having a mounting portion, the valve body being inserted into the cavity and communicating the inlet and outlet with the plurality of fluid passages; and for positioning on the operated valve. A pair of tabs that engage with the mounting portion of the valve body, and a pair of arms that elastically engage one of the retaining surfaces of the manifold and retain the valve body of the manifold. It is characterized in that it contains a resilient clip having.

Therefore, the present invention utilizes undercut mounting surfaces located on opposite sides of the cavity in the block into which the valve body is inserted. A generally U-shaped elastic bracket is received over the solenoid and a snap action engages the legs of the U-shaped elastic bracket with an undercut in the manifold. The U-shaped bracket has a tab in a portion that engages with the valve and is aligned with a valve body and a port of the manifold, and a pair of second tabs engages a side surface of the undercut portion, Once installed in the manifold, valve rotation is prevented.

[0011]

1 and 2, an assembly 10 of the present invention includes a solenoid operated valve (electrically operated valve) 12 having a solenoid 14 mounted on a valve body 16. The valve body 16 has a lower portion (mounting portion) 18 extending below the solenoid and received within a cavity 20 formed in a manifold or block (valve block) 22.

The manifold 22 includes a plurality of hydraulic valve passages 2
4, 26, which communicate with the valve cavity 20 and connect to hydraulic equipment (not shown) located remotely within the fluid actuation system.

A fluid port 28 is formed in the lower portion 18 of the valve body 16 and is arranged to connect with a passageway 26 in the manifold. Also, the second fluid port 30 is located away from the fluid port 28,
It communicates with the passage 24 in the manifold. The flow of fluid between the valve passages 28, 30 in the valve body is accomplished by a movable valve member such as a spool (not shown) that operates within the valve 12 in a manner well known to those familiar with solenoid operated valves. Controlled.

Manifold 22 has a pair of struts or upstanding portions 32, 34 that define first and second valve retaining surfaces, which are located on opposite sides of valve cavity 20 and are generally aligned. I have a relationship. Preferably, the columns 32, 34 are integrally formed with the manifold 22. Each of the uprights or struts 32, 34 locks undercuts 36, 38 for mounting, as described below.

The lower portion of the valve 18 is sealed within the cavity 20 above the valve passage 28 by a suitable seal ring 31. The seal ring is received in a groove formed on the outer periphery of the lower portion 18. Similarly, a second seal ring 35 serves to isolate the port 24 in the manifold from the passage 26 in the manifold.
8 is provided on the lower side. In addition, the seal ring 35
Are arranged between the valve passages 28, 30.

The valve body 16 of the assembly 12 is shown in FIGS.
As shown by the solid lines and in the figure by the dotted lines, there is a pair of opposed projections or lugs 40, 42 extending outward from the upper portion.

4 and 5, the mounting bracket 43 is shown in its unassembled state, and FIG.
In the elevation view shown in Fig. 3, it has a substantially cup shape. The present invention preferably uses one bracket stamped from a single blank of sheet material, thus minimizing the manufacturing cost of the mounting bracket.

An opening 44 is formed through a central portion of the bracket (elastic clip) 43 so that the bracket is placed on the solenoid 14 and is slidably engaged therewith. Is the valve body 16
It is sized and shaped to fit the top surface of the.

The bracket 43 defines two pairs of mounting tabs 46, 48 on either side of the opening 44 which extend downwardly from the bracket. These tabs 46, 48 are lugs 40,
42 for engaging the tabs of each pair with the lugs 40, 42.
Are spaced apart a sufficient distance to extend downward beyond one side. The lug provided on the valve body is
Aligns with a bracket 43 placed on the valve body and prevents relative rotation between the valve body and the bracket.

The bracket 43 includes a pair of tabs 46 and 48.
Elastically deformable spring arms or extensions 50, 52 extending outwardly in opposite directions from. These arms form a pair of second tabs 54, 56 at their outer ends, which tabs extend downwardly from one another. The tabs 54 and 56 of each pair are spaced apart and received so as to be pressed against the side surfaces of the columns 32 and 34, respectively. The arms 50 and 52 have a sufficient length and size so that they can be pressed by spring force from the outside into the recesses of the undercut portions 36 and 38 of the arms when assembled with the bracket that covers the solenoid 14. This prevents the bracket from coming off the valve. The tabs 54, 56 engage the sides of the columns 32, 34 to prevent relative rotation of the bracket 43 on the manifold and disengagement of the bracket.

At the time of assembly, the valve 12 has the seal rings 31, 3
These seal rings are inserted into the cavities 20 and the manifold 22 and have the lower part 18 with the upper part 5 and the upper part 16 of the valve body aligned with the upper part of the manifold 22.

The bracket 43 is arranged such that the opening 44 is slidable over the solenoid 14 and deflects the arms 50, 52 of the bracket inward to move the arm to the position shown by the dashed line in FIG. At this time, the bracket is moved downward so that the lower surface of the bracket overlaps with the upper surface of the valve body 16, and the tabs of the bracket are engaged and pressed against the ends of the columns 32 and 34.

When the compression of the arms 50 and 52 is released,
The arm opens outwardly and snaps into place at the position shown in solid lines in FIGS. Thus, the bracket allows the tabs 54, 56 to engage the struts and the tabs 46, 4
The engagement of 8 with the valve body lugs 40, 42 secures the valve vertically and against rotation in the cavity.

The present invention provides a simple and low cost mounting bracket for mounting solenoid actuated valves on a manifold that allows the user to operate without the need for a separate fixture or a tool to secure the fixture. Can reliably fix the valve to the manifold.

As described above, the assembling method of the present invention is for assembling the solenoid operated valve to the hydraulic manifold. The manifold is provided with columns having undercut portions on both sides of the cavity and has a central opening. The U-shaped bracket fits into the solenoid,
A pair of tabs engage the lugs on either side of the valve body to prevent relative rotation between the bracket and the valve.

Further, the bracket has a pair of opposing elastically deformable spring arms, and each arm has a second arm.
It has a pair of tabs and when the user inserts the valve body into the cavity, it deflects against the struts. The arm resiliently engages the undercut portion of the strut to prevent valve dislodgement. The second tab engages the side of the strut to prevent relative rotation of the bracket and valve.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to the embodiment set forth herein, it is not limited to this embodiment, which includes various changes and modifications, and is covered by the appended claims or their technical spirit. The above description which does not deviate from the above shall be included.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of an assembly of solenoid valves provided in a valve block used in the present invention.

2 is a top view of the assembly of FIG. 7. FIG.

3 is an axonometric view of the solenoid valve of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view of the mounting bracket used in FIG. 1 as viewed from above.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the bracket of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 assembly 12 Solenoid operated valve 14 Solenoid 16 valve body 18 Lower part 20 cavities 22 manifold 24,26 passage 28,30 valve passage 32, 34 props (valve holding surface) 36,38 Undercut part 40,42 lugs 43 Bracket (elastic clip) 44 openings 46, 48 tabs 50,52 arms 54,56 second tab

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Jorge Albert Moreno             United States Michigan 48326 Au             Barn Hills Hempstead Road               2436 (72) Inventor Charles Chan             United States Michigan 48084 Toro             I Old Creek Road 3984 F-term (reference) 3H051 BB02 CC14 FF07                 3H106 EE35 GA01 GB01 GC23 GC25                       JJ02 KK03 KK17                 3J037 AA10 BB01 BB03                 3J039 AA08 FA20

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A method of assembling an electrically operated valve to a valve block, comprising: (a) a valve block having a cavity having a fluid passage and first and second valve retaining surfaces disposed on opposite sides of the cavity. Providing (b) a valve body having a pair of mounting lugs extending from both sides of the operating valve and a mounting portion having an inlet port and an outlet port, (c)
Forming a resilient clip having a first set of tabs that engage the lugs and a second set of tabs that engage the valve retaining surface, and (d) insert the mounting portion of the actuating valve into the cavity. And (e) disposing the elastic clip on the actuating valve, engaging the first set of tabs with the lugs, disposing the actuating valve on the valve body, and disposing the second set of tabs. Elastically engaging the retaining surface to secure the actuating valve onto the valve block. 2. The step of forming an elastic clip and the step of disposing the clip on an actuating valve include forming an opening in the elastic clip and sliding the opening so that the opening slides over a solenoid of the valve. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises moving. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming the resilient clip comprises stamping the clip from a single blank. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing a pair of valve retaining surfaces comprises forming a pair of struts. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing a pair of valve retaining surfaces comprises forming a pair of struts and forming an undercut in the struts. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing a pair of valve retaining surfaces includes an undercut portion of the valve block. 7. The step of resiliently engaging a second set of tabs with the retaining surface includes forming an undercut in the valve block and engaging the second set of tabs with the undercut. The method of claim 1, comprising: 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of forming the elastic clip comprises stamping a blank of sheet stock. 9. A valve having: (a) a cavity having a plurality of fluid passages for communicating fluid therebetween, and a manifold having a pair of valve holding surfaces, which is arranged on both sides of the cavity. Operation manifold, (b)
A valve body having first and second parts, a first body having an inlet and an outlet formed therein, and a pair of mounting parts disposed on opposite sides of the second part; An electrically operated valve that inserts into the cavity and communicates the inlet and outlet with the plurality of fluid passages; and (c) a pair of engaging engagement portions of the valve body for positioning on the operated valve. An electrically operated valve including a tab and an elastic clip having a pair of arms each elastically engaging one valve holding surface of the manifold and holding a valve body of the manifold. And an assembly having a valve actuation manifold. 10. The assembly according to claim 9, wherein the valve retaining surface of the manifold includes a pair of undercut portions. 11. The assembly of claim 9, wherein the elastic clip is formed of a single block of sheet material. 12. The assembly of claim 9, wherein the elastic clip is generally U-shaped. 13. The assembly of claim 9, wherein the valve includes a solenoid actuator and the resilient clip has an opening received on the solenoid actuator.